diff --git a/attributes/default.rb b/attributes/default.rb
index 0e7571e..39017ab 100644
--- a/attributes/default.rb
+++ b/attributes/default.rb
@@ -12,73 +12,45 @@
 default['storm']['cluster_role'] = ""
 
 # general storm attributes
-default['storm']['java_lib_path'] = "/usr/local/lib:/opt/local/lib:/usr/lib"
-default['storm']['local_dir'] = "/mnt/storm"
-default['storm']['local_mode_zmq'] = "false"
-default['storm']['cluster_mode'] = "distributed"
-
-# zookeeper attributes
-default['storm']['zookeeper']['port'] = 2181
-default['storm']['zookeeper']['root'] = "/storm"
-default['storm']['zookeeper']['session_timeout'] = 30000
-default['storm']['zookeeper']['retry_times'] = 60
-default['storm']['zookeeper']['retry_interval'] = 5000
-
-# supervisor attributes
-default['storm']['supervisor']['workers'] = 4
-default['storm']['supervisor']['childopts'] = "-Xmx1024m"
-default['storm']['supervisor']['worker_start_timeout'] = 120
-default['storm']['supervisor']['worker_timeout_secs'] = 30
-default['storm']['supervisor']['monitor_frequecy_secs'] = 3
-default['storm']['supervisor']['heartbeat_frequency_secs'] = 5
-default['storm']['supervisor']['enable'] = true
+default['storm']['yaml']['java.library.path'] = '/usr/local/lib:/opt/local/lib:/usr/lib'
+default['storm']['yaml']['storm.local.dir'] = '/mnt/storm'
+default['storm']['yaml']['storm.cluster.mode'] = 'distributed'
 
 # worker attributes
-default['storm']['worker']['childopts'] = "-Xmx1280m -XX:+UseConcMarkSweepGC -Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote"
-default['storm']['worker']['heartbeat_frequency_secs'] = 1
-default['storm']['task']['heartbeat_frequency_secs'] = 3
-default['storm']['task']['refresh_poll_secs'] = 10
-default['storm']['zmq']['threads'] = 1
-default['storm']['zmq']['longer_millis'] = 5000
+default['storm']['yaml']['worker.childopts'] = '-Xmx1280m -XX:+UseConcMarkSweepGC ' \
+  '-Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote'
+default['storm']['yaml']['worker.heartbeat.frequency.secs'] = 1
 
-# nimbus attributes
-default['storm']['nimbus']['host'] = ""
-default['storm']['nimbus']['thrift_port'] = 6627
-default['storm']['nimbus']['childopts'] = "-Xmx1024m"
-default['storm']['nimbus']['task_timeout_secs'] = 30
-default['storm']['nimbus']['supervisor_timeout_secs'] = 60
-default['storm']['nimbus']['monitor_freq_secs'] = 10
-default['storm']['nimbus']['cleanup_inbox_freq_secs'] = 600
-default['storm']['nimbus']['inbox_jar_expiration_secs'] = 3600
-default['storm']['nimbus']['task_launch_secs'] = 120
-default['storm']['nimbus']['reassign'] = true
-default['storm']['nimbus']['file_copy_expiration_secs'] = 600
+default['storm']['yaml']['task.heartbeat.frequency.secs'] = 3
+default['storm']['yaml']['task.refresh.poll.secs'] = 10
+default['storm']['yaml']['zmq.threads'] = 1
+default['storm']['yaml']['zmq.longer.millis'] = 5000
 
 # ui attributes
-default['storm']['ui']['port'] = 8080
-default['storm']['ui']['childopts'] = "-Xmx768m"
+default['storm']['yaml']['ui.port'] = 8080
+default['storm']['yaml']['ui.childopts'] = '-Xmx768m'
 
 # drpc attributes
-default['storm']['drpc']['port'] = 3772
-default['storm']['drpc']['invocations_port'] = 3773
-default['storm']['drpc']['request_timeout_secs'] = 600
+default['storm']['yaml']['drpc.port'] = 3772
+default['storm']['yaml']['drpc.invocations.port'] = 3773
+default['storm']['yaml']['drpc.request.timeout.secs'] = 600
 
 # transactional attributes
-default['storm']['transactional']['zookeeper']['root'] = "/storm-transactional"
-default['storm']['transactional']['zookeeper']['port'] = 2181
+default['storm']['yaml']['transactional.zookeeper.root'] = '/storm-transactional'
+default['storm']['yaml']['transactional.zookeeper.port'] = 2181
 
 # topology attributes
-default['storm']['topology']['debug'] = false
-default['storm']['topology']['optimize'] = true
-default['storm']['topology']['workers'] = 1
-default['storm']['topology']['acker_executors'] = 1
-default['storm']['topology']['acker_tasks'] = "null"
-default['storm']['topology']['tasks'] = "null"
-default['storm']['topology']['message_timeout_secs'] = 30
-default['storm']['topology']['skip_missing_kryo_registrations'] = false
-default['storm']['topology']['max_task_parallelism'] = "null"
-default['storm']['topology']['max_spout_pending'] = "null"
-default['storm']['topology']['state_synchronization_timeout_secs'] = 60
-default['storm']['topology']['stats_sample_rate'] = 0.05
-default['storm']['topology']['fall_back_on_java_serialization'] = true
-default['storm']['topology']['worker_childopts'] = "null"
+default['storm']['yaml']['topology.debug'] = false
+default['storm']['yaml']['topology.optimize'] = true
+default['storm']['yaml']['topology.workers'] = 1
+default['storm']['yaml']['topology.acker.executors'] = 1
+default['storm']['yaml']['topology.acker.tasks'] = 'null'
+default['storm']['yaml']['topology.tasks'] = 'null'
+default['storm']['yaml']['topology.message.timeout.secs'] = 30
+default['storm']['yaml']['topology.skip.missing.kryo.registrations'] = false
+default['storm']['yaml']['topology.max.task.parallelism'] = 'null'
+default['storm']['yaml']['topology.max.spout.pending'] = 'null'
+default['storm']['yaml']['topology.state.synchronization.timeout.secs'] = 60
+default['storm']['yaml']['topology.stats.sample.rate'] = 0.05
+default['storm']['yaml']['topology.fall.back.on.java.serialization'] = true
+default['storm']['yaml']['topology.worker.childopts'] = 'null'
diff --git a/attributes/nimbus.rb b/attributes/nimbus.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5845434
--- /dev/null
+++ b/attributes/nimbus.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+default['storm']['yaml']['nimbus.thrift.port'] = 6627
+default['storm']['yaml']['nimbus.childopts'] = '-Xmx1024m'
+default['storm']['yaml']['nimbus.task.timeout.secs'] = 30
+default['storm']['yaml']['nimbus.supervisor.timeout.secs'] = 60
+default['storm']['yaml']['nimbus.monitor.freq.secs'] = 10
+default['storm']['yaml']['nimbus.cleanup.inbox.freq.secs'] = 600
+default['storm']['yaml']['nimbus.inbox.jar.expiration.secs'] = 3600
+default['storm']['yaml']['nimbus.task.launch.secs'] = 120
+default['storm']['yaml']['nimbus.reassign'] = true
+default['storm']['yaml']['nimbus.file.copy.expiration.secs'] = 600
diff --git a/attributes/supervisor.rb b/attributes/supervisor.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ea4118e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/attributes/supervisor.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+default['storm']['supervisor']['workers'] = 4
+
+default['storm']['yaml']['supervisor.childopts'] = '-Xmx1024m'
+default['storm']['yaml']['supervisor.worker.start.timeout.secs'] = 120
+default['storm']['yaml']['supervisor.worker.timeout.secs'] = 30
+default['storm']['yaml']['supervisor.monitor.frequency.secs'] = 3
+default['storm']['yaml']['supervisor.heartbeat.frequency.secs'] = 5
+default['storm']['yaml']['supervisor.enable'] = true
diff --git a/attributes/zookeeper.rb b/attributes/zookeeper.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..61c244f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/attributes/zookeeper.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+default['storm']['yaml']['storm.zookeeper.port'] = 2181
+default['storm']['yaml']['storm.zookeeper.root'] = '/storm'
+default['storm']['yaml']['storm.zookeeper.session.timeout'] = 30_000
+default['storm']['yaml']['storm.zookeeper.retry.times'] = 60
+default['storm']['yaml']['storm.zookeeper.retry.interval'] = 5000
diff --git a/recipes/default.rb b/recipes/default.rb
index c087aa0..70364bd 100644
--- a/recipes/default.rb
+++ b/recipes/default.rb
@@ -36,9 +36,9 @@
 
 #locate the nimbus for this storm cluster
 if node.recipes.include?("storm::nimbus")
-  nimbus_host = node
+  node.set['storm']['yaml']['nimbus.host'] = node[:fqdn]
 else
-  nimbus_host = search(:node, "role:storm_nimbus AND role:#{node['storm']['cluster_role']} AND chef_environment:#{node.chef_environment}").first
+  node.set['storm']['yaml']['nimbus.host'] = search(:node, "role:storm_nimbus AND role:#{node['storm']['cluster_role']} AND chef_environment:#{node.chef_environment}").first
 end
 
 # search for zookeeper servers
@@ -65,7 +65,12 @@
 end 
 
 # setup directories
-%w{conf_dir local_dir log_dir install_dir bin_dir}.each do |name|
+%w(
+  conf_dir
+  log_dir
+  install_dir
+  bin_dir
+).each do |name|
   directory node['storm'][name] do
     owner "storm"
     group "storm"
@@ -74,6 +79,13 @@
   end
 end
 
+directory node['storm']['yaml']['storm.local.dir'] do
+  owner 'storm'
+  group 'storm'
+  action :create
+  recursive true
+end
+
 # download storm
 remote_file "#{Chef::Config[:file_cache_path]}/storm-#{node[:storm][:version]}.tar.gz" do
   source "#{node['storm']['download_url']}/storm-#{node['storm']['version']}.tar.gz"
@@ -102,7 +114,6 @@
   source "storm.yaml.erb"
   mode 00644
   variables(
-    :nimbus => nimbus_host,
     :zookeeper_quorum => zookeeper_quorum
   )
 end
@@ -126,4 +137,4 @@
   variables({
     :log_dir => node['storm']['log_dir']
   })
-end
\ No newline at end of file
+end
diff --git a/templates/default/storm.yaml.erb b/templates/default/storm.yaml.erb
index 0a87ac8..3e296f0 100644
--- a/templates/default/storm.yaml.erb
+++ b/templates/default/storm.yaml.erb
@@ -1,23 +1,8 @@
-### base
-java.library.path: "<%= node[:storm][:java_lib_path] %>"
-storm.local.dir: "<%= node[:storm][:local_dir] %>"
-storm.local.mode.zmq: <%= node[:storm][:local_mode_zmq] %>
-storm.cluster.mode: "<%= node[:storm][:cluster_mode] %>"
-
-
-
 ### zookeeper.*
 storm.zookeeper.servers:
 <% @zookeeper_quorum.each do |host| -%>
     - "<%= host %>"
 <% end -%>
-storm.zookeeper.port: <%= node[:storm][:zookeeper][:port] %>
-storm.zookeeper.root: "<%= node[:storm][:zookeeper][:root] %>"
-storm.zookeeper.session.timeout: <%= node[:storm][:zookeeper][:session_timeout] %>
-storm.zookeeper.retry.times: <%= node[:storm][:zookeeper][:retry_times] %>
-storm.zookeeper.retry.interval: <%= node[:storm][:zookeeper][:retry_interval] %>
-
-
 
 ### supervisor.* configs are for node supervisors
 supervisor.slots.ports:
@@ -25,77 +10,22 @@ supervisor.slots.ports:
     - <%= 6700+i -%>
 
 <% end -%>
-supervisor.childopts: "<%= node[:storm][:supervisor][:childopts] %>"
-supervisor.worker.start.timeout.secs: <%= node[:storm][:supervisor][:worker_start_timeout] %>
-supervisor.worker.timeout.secs: <%= node[:storm][:supervisor][:worker_timeout_secs] %>
-supervisor.monitor.frequency.secs: <%= node[:storm][:supervisor][:monitor_frequecy_secs] %>
-supervisor.heartbeat.frequency.secs: <%= node[:storm][:supervisor][:heartbeat_frequency_secs] %>
-supervisor.enable: <%= node[:storm][:supervisor][:enable] %>
-
-
-
-### worker.* configs are for task workers
-worker.childopts: "<%= node[:storm][:worker][:childopts] %>"
-worker.heartbeat.frequency.secs: <%= node[:storm][:worker][:heartbeat_frequency_secs] %>
-task.heartbeat.frequency.secs: <%= node[:storm][:task][:heartbeat_frequency_secs] %>
-task.refresh.poll.secs: <%= node[:storm][:task][:refresh_poll_secs] %>
-zmq.threads: <%= node[:storm][:zmq][:threads] %>
-zmq.linger.millis: <%= node[:storm][:zmq][:longer_millis] %>
-
-
-
-### nimbus.* configs are for the master
-nimbus.host: "<%= @nimbus[:fqdn] %>"
-nimbus.thrift.port: <%= node[:storm][:nimbus][:thrift_port] %>
-nimbus.childopts: "<%= node[:storm][:nimbus][:childopts] %>"
-nimbus.task.timeout.secs: <%= node[:storm][:nimbus][:task_timeout_secs] %>
-nimbus.supervisor.timeout.secs: <%= node[:storm][:nimbus][:supervisor_timeout_secs] %>
-nimbus.monitor.freq.secs: <%= node[:storm][:nimbus][:monitor_freq_secs] %>
-nimbus.cleanup.inbox.freq.secs: <%= node[:storm][:nimbus][:cleanup_inbox_freq_secs] %>
-nimbus.inbox.jar.expiration.secs: <%= node[:storm][:nimbus][:inbox_jar_expiration_secs] %>
-nimbus.task.launch.secs: <%= node[:storm][:nimbus][:task_launch_secs] %>
-nimbus.reassign: <%= node[:storm][:nimbus][:reassign] %>
-nimbus.file.copy.expiration.secs: <%= node[:storm][:nimbus][:file_copy_expiration_secs] %>
-
-
-
-### ui.* configs are for the master
-ui.port: <%= node[:storm][:ui][:port] %>
-ui.childopts: "<%= node[:storm][:ui][:childopts] %>"
-
-
-
-### drpc.* configs
-drpc.port: <%= node[:storm][:drpc][:port] %>
-drpc.invocations.port: <%= node[:storm][:drpc][:invocations_port] %>
-drpc.request.timeout.secs: <%= node[:storm][:drpc][:request_timeout_secs] %>
-
-
 
 ### transactional.* configs
 transactional.zookeeper.servers:
 <% @zookeeper_quorum.each do |host| -%>
     - "<%= host %>"
 <% end -%>
-transactional.zookeeper.root: "<%= node[:storm][:transactional][:zookeeper][:root] %>"
-transactional.zookeeper.port: <%= node[:storm][:transactional][:zookeeper][:port] %>
-
-
-
-### topology.* configs are for specific executing storms
-topology.debug: <%= node[:storm][:topology][:debug] %>
-topology.optimize: <%= node[:storm][:topology][:optimize] %>
-topology.workers: <%= node[:storm][:topology][:workers] %>
-topology.acker.executors: <%= node[:storm][:topology][:acker_executors] %>
-topology.acker.tasks: <%= node[:storm][:topology][:acker_tasks] %>
-topology.tasks: <%= node[:storm][:topology][:tasks] %>
-topology.message.timeout.secs: <%= node[:storm][:topology][:message_timeout_secs] %>
-topology.skip.missing.kryo.registrations: <%= node[:storm][:topology][:skip_missing_kryo_registrations] %>
-topology.max.task.parallelism: <%= node[:storm][:topology][:max_task_parallelism] %>
-topology.max.spout.pending: <%= node[:storm][:topology][:max_spout_pending] %>
-topology.state.synchronization.timeout.secs: <%= node[:storm][:topology][:state_synchronization_timeout_secs] %>
-topology.stats.sample.rate: <%= node[:storm][:topology][:stats_sample_rate] %>
-topology.fall.back.on.java.serialization: <%= node[:storm][:topology][:fall_back_on_java_serialization] %>
-topology.worker.childopts: <%= node[:storm][:topology][:worker_childopts] %>
-
 
+<% node['storm']['yaml'].each do |k, v| -%>
+<%= k %>: <%= 
+case
+when v.class == String && v.downcase == 'null'
+  'null'
+when v.class == String
+  "\"#{v}\""
+else
+  v
+end
+%>
+<% end -%>